E&H’s Hidden Role in “Hidden Figures”

The book, “Hidden Figures,” has been made into a movie and everyone is loving the story. But you might not know about a couple of E&H figures who are in the story.

If you’re reading Margot Lee Shetterly’s book Hidden Figures (which has a movie opening on Christmas Day 2016) you may have noticed that toward the end of the book there is a reference to Katherine Johnson working with John Young. That’s Emory & Henry’s John Young, Class of 1955 (deceased).

Hidden Figures tells the story of the unsung “computers” – the women, many of whom were African American, who crunched the numbers for engineers. It’s a story of the people who were pivotal to the space race but had barriers to being classified as engineers because of gender and race. One of the main figures profiled in the book is Katherine Johnson: the woman who John Glenn requested to do the final calculations for re-entry before he would agree to his trip into orbit.

Katherine taught school for many years in Marion, Virginia, and her first husband, James Goble, was a brother to Scrapper Broady’s mother. Scrapper is a 1970 E&H graduate and is currently serving his alma mater on the Emory & Henry Board of Trustees. He was among the first African American students to study at Emory & Henry. He remembers John Young’s father, Dr. Worth J. “Rusty” Young (E&H ’27, former E&H physics professor) speaking highly of his aunt’s work. “And she spoke highly of the Youngs, too.”

John Young worked alongside Katherine for around 25 years. John’s brother, E&H alumnus Phil Young (E&H ’62, self-described “retired rocket scientist”) also spent his career at NASA. Phil worked with Margot Lee Shetterly’s father, and remembers Mary Jackson and Christina Darden (profiled in the book) from his days at NASA’s Hampton Roads division. He also met Katherine Johnson a time or two. Phil says Katherine told him that she takes credit for teaching John to talk. “They called him Silent John in college. One day at Langley, Katherine threw some paper in John’s waste basket, and he said, ‘Who told you you could use my trash can?’ And Katherine shouted, ‘He can talk!’”

Back in 1985, Patsi Trollinger (E&H ’72, former E&H Public Relations Director) wrote an E&H Alumni Magazine story about the large number of E&H alumni who were involved with the space program. Phil says the recruiter from Langley would visit Emory & Henry because they needed good employees, and they needed a lot of them. “He liked the graduates from Emory & Henry, so he kept coming back to campus to recruit. My father [Dr. Rusty Young] would point out the students who were especially promising.” The alumni magazine article includes a long list of over 25 alumni who worked at Langley and NASA over the years, but conversations will prove that it still isn’t an exhaustive list. Technical writers, engineers, mathematicians – there were many roles in the space program filled by talented scientists with E&H degrees.

“It’s amazing that so many E&H people worked on Apollo. With only 5-6 science grads a year versus the numbers being put out by places like Purdue – Emory & Henry probably had a higher percentage of alumni in the space program than any college in America.”

Phil Young (E&H ’62, former NASA scientist) posing with daughter Wendy McGlohn Green (E&H ’97, decorated educator) and her husband, Doug at a recent family gathering. Phil remembers being a high school kid and standing at the old filling station in Emory and watching Sputnik fly over Emory & Henry. Now he marvels at how many Emory & Henry alumni were part of the United States’ first foray into space

John Young’s senior photo from the 1955 Sphinx yearbook.

Scrapper Broady’s aunt, Katherine Johnson, has had her story told in the book Hidden Figures.

<div class="lw_news_image"><span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/news/63-a-man-for-san-fran" title="A Man for San Fran" aria-label="A Man for San Fran"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,960,640/654_Doug_Dalton.rev.1506449976.jpg" alt="Doug Dalton E&H Class of 1994" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,960,640/654_Doug_Dalton.rev.1506449976.jpg 2x" data-max-w="960" data-max-h="640"/></a></span></div><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_news_headline"><a href="/live/news/63-a-man-for-san-fran" title="A Man for San Fran" aria-label="A Man for San Fran">A Man for San Fran</a></h4><div class="lw_news_summary">Doug Dalton saw a problem in San Francisco and he set out to solve it. And, wow, is he ever having a good time. <a href="/live/news/63-a-man-for-san-fran" class="link-with-arrow gold" title="A Man for San Fran" aria-label="A Man for San Fran">Keep reading</a></div></div>

<div class="lw_news_image"><span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/news/609-judi-and-steves-love-story-was-worth-the-wait" title="Judi and Steve’s Love Story Was Worth the Wait" aria-label="Judi and Steve’s Love Story Was Worth the Wait"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1338,1225/5751_44361863_281480005807290_2386448545948368896_n.rev.1544663679.jpg" alt="Judi Kyle August and Steve Crabtree are all smiles." class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1338,1225/5751_44361863_281480005807290_2386448545948368896_n.rev.1544663679.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1338,1225/5751_44361863_281480005807290_2386448545948368896_n.rev.1544663679.jpg 3x" data-max-w="1338" data-max-h="1225"/></a></span></div><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_news_headline"><a href="/live/news/609-judi-and-steves-love-story-was-worth-the-wait" title="Judi and Steve’s Love Story Was Worth the Wait" aria-label="Judi and Steve’s Love Story Was Worth the Wait">Judi and Steve’s Love Story Was Worth the Wait</a></h4><div class="lw_news_summary">It’s a story of romance…and perfect timing…and football <a href="/live/news/609-judi-and-steves-love-story-was-worth-the-wait" class="link-with-arrow gold" title="Judi and Steve’s Love Story Was Worth the Wait" aria-label="Judi and Steve’s Love Story Was Worth the Wait">Keep reading</a></div></div>

<div class="lw_news_image"><span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/news/788-trollinger-named-citizen-of-the-year" title="Trollinger Named Citizen of the Year" aria-label="Trollinger Named Citizen of the Year"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/38,0,514,475/6285_Richard_Trollinger.rev.1554994277.jpg" alt="Richard Trollinger, E&H Class of 1971." class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/38,0,514,475/6285_Richard_Trollinger.rev.1554994277.jpg 2x" data-max-w="718" data-max-h="475"/></a></span></div><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_news_headline"><a href="/live/news/788-trollinger-named-citizen-of-the-year" title="Trollinger Named Citizen of the Year" aria-label="Trollinger Named Citizen of the Year">Trollinger Named Citizen of the Year</a></h4><div class="lw_news_summary">Richard Trollinger (E&H ’71) has been named Danville, Kentucky, citizen of the year. <a href="/live/news/788-trollinger-named-citizen-of-the-year" class="link-with-arrow gold" title="Trollinger Named Citizen of the Year" aria-label="Trollinger Named Citizen of the Year">Keep reading</a></div></div>

<div class="lw_news_image"><span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/news/75-kurtz-appointed-to-atlanta-area-agency-on-aging" title="Kurtz Appointed to Atlanta Area Agency on Aging" aria-label="Kurtz Appointed to Atlanta Area Agency on Aging"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,232,216/741_kurtz.rev.1507059839.jpg" alt="Becky Kurtz E&H '84" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="232" data-max-h="216"/></a></span></div><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_news_headline"><a href="/live/news/75-kurtz-appointed-to-atlanta-area-agency-on-aging" title="Kurtz Appointed to Atlanta Area Agency on Aging" aria-label="Kurtz Appointed to Atlanta Area Agency on Aging">Kurtz Appointed to Atlanta Area Agency on Aging</a></h4><div class="lw_news_summary">Becky Kurtz is heading back to Atlanta after serving as a chief U.S. administrator. <a href="/live/news/75-kurtz-appointed-to-atlanta-area-agency-on-aging" class="link-with-arrow gold" title="Kurtz Appointed to Atlanta Area Agency on Aging" aria-label="Kurtz Appointed to Atlanta Area Agency on Aging">Keep reading</a></div></div>

<div class="lw_news_image"><span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/news/406-kim-cressell-has-the-greatest-shop-on-earth" title="Kim Cressell has the Greatest Shop on Earth" aria-label="Kim Cressell has the Greatest Shop on Earth"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/560,0,2016,1455/4145_IMG_0071.rev.1525982477.jpg" alt="Kim Cressell (E&H '93) at The Reserve in Sarasota, Florida." class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/560,0,2016,1455/4145_IMG_0071.rev.1525982477.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/560,0,2016,1455/4145_IMG_0071.rev.1525982477.jpg 3x" data-max-w="2016" data-max-h="1512"/></a></span></div><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_news_headline"><a href="/live/news/406-kim-cressell-has-the-greatest-shop-on-earth" title="Kim Cressell has the Greatest Shop on Earth" aria-label="Kim Cressell has the Greatest Shop on Earth">Kim Cressell has the Greatest Shop on Earth</a></h4><div class="lw_news_summary">It’s a shop that is far more exciting than retail; but what ARE those red buildings? <a href="/live/news/406-kim-cressell-has-the-greatest-shop-on-earth" class="link-with-arrow gold" title="Kim Cressell has the Greatest Shop on Earth" aria-label="Kim Cressell has the Greatest Shop on Earth">Keep reading</a></div></div>

<div class="lw_news_image"><span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/news/660-how-do-you-love-your-neighbor-in-the-midst-of" title="How do you love your neighbor in the midst of conflict?" aria-label="How do you love your neighbor in the midst of conflict?"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,750,845/5907_Wil-CasMug_2.5_inches.rev.1548777885.jpg" alt="Rev. Wil Cantrell, E&H Class of 2001." class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,750,845/5907_Wil-CasMug_2.5_inches.rev.1548777885.jpg 2x" data-max-w="750" data-max-h="845"/></a></span></div><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_news_headline"><a href="/live/news/660-how-do-you-love-your-neighbor-in-the-midst-of" title="How do you love your neighbor in the midst of conflict?" aria-label="How do you love your neighbor in the midst of conflict?">How do you love your neighbor in the midst of conflict?</a></h4><div class="lw_news_summary">A book by Rev. Wil Cantrell (E&H ’01) intends to help United Methodists remain committed to the Church during a contentious debate. <a href="/live/news/660-how-do-you-love-your-neighbor-in-the-midst-of" class="link-with-arrow gold" title="How do you love your neighbor in the midst of conflict?" aria-label="How do you love your neighbor in the midst of conflict?">Keep reading</a></div></div>